Perfect Transmissions

“Culture can no longer be understood as separate from technology” begins the piece Mark Poster, author of “Perfect Transmissions: Evil Bert Laden”  gives an analysis on the appearance of a beloved Sesame Street character, Bert, on a Bangladesh protest with Bin Laden.

       Protesters quickly misinterpreted the poster as it rapidly went viral across the internet. We are so ridiculously obsessed and reliant on technology these days that teachers warn their students not to post anything on the internet because it is permanent. Poster makes a point as he says culture is not separate from technology due to the digital revolution we are living in. We are all influenced by many other cultures, and they are all becoming a melting pot. It is ironic that an American, like myself, would view the poster as merely odd or a poor attempt at a practical joke, but it could cause great offense in other countries. Poster supports his claim by including his thoughts, “we must begin to interpret culture as multiple cacophonies of inscribed meanings as each cultural object moves across cultural differences.”